Rebecca from Melbourne Water talked about lessons from an intranet rebuild at her organisation.

Key ideas:
– Engagement is important because it’s their intranet.
– Go out and talk to people about their needs and requirements. Business people often won’t know; so need to do a lot more than just ask their requirements.
– Have a business representative group. Provides a way of giving information and providing feedback.
– Run show and tell sessions. Give the message. Show designs and progress. Don’t be afraid about feedback.
– Ran information architecture sessions inside Melbourne Water. Users do card sorting and tree testing.
– Usability testing is really important. Budget for this. Melbourne Water engaged an external vendor to help with this. Made some significant changes based on what they learnt.
– User acceptance testing – seeking feedback on specific things. Write down what you find, what things are difficult, etc. Pretty much focused on negatives / issues, rather than the positives. Would incorporate positive feedback in the sessions next time.
– tips for success: (1) ask what they need, not what they want, (2) involve people early and often, (3) budget for design activities – time / resources, (4) be clear on expectations, (5) treats go a long way – eg., chocolate, (6) make it fun.